Lady Irwin School for us: My take on it…

I wonder why my father decided to send us to Lady Irwin Girls School when there were a number of schools at stone’s throw away from the house that we lived in. As we lived at the western end of the Lower Bazaar, Arya Samaj Girls School was a few steps away from our home. This school had a creditable reputation and strictly followed the precincts of Arya Samaj ideology. The girls of this school in light ochre colored school uniform looked beautiful. Everyday it would be the Manta recitation from the Arya Smaj Mandir that would wake up from our deep slumber. And those days it was not the pre-recorded cassette or a CD that would be inserted in some machine to play but real human beings would chant the Bhajanas and mantras in the very early hours of the morning. Perhaps Bauji thought that his daughters would turn into mantra chanting women if they were sent to this school though it was barely two minutes walk from our home.

At some distance was St. Thomas Girls School with white and green small checks uniform of its students, The morning assembly of the students would be held in the open visible from the road above. Many would watch the assembly to find out what kind of prayer these girls sing, whether to Hindu Bhagwaan or to Jesus Christ? I am sure my Bauji wanted us to imbibe something of free thinking spirit and so neither did he send us to Arya Samaj Girls’ School and nor to St. Thomas Girls’ School!

This was a period when Singh Sabha had school for Sikh students, Arya Samaj catered to mainly Hindu philosophy. The Arya Samaj with its Shuddihis and havans at the Arya Samaj Mandir was more in conformity with spread of Vedic education. I think Bauji thought much above these sectarian divides. Though, sadly, I never happened to discuss all these issues with him at any point in time. As Bauji had joined General Post Office Simla as a clerk in March 1947 and he must have wanted his children to be kept away from caste politics he, in all probability, chose Lady Irwin School for us.

But the question as to why Bauji selected only this school over others for us remained an enigma for me though I loved the school and its small blue and white checked uniform! Even this school worked in co-ordination with the DAV Lakkar Bazaar but there were no Havanas and Mantras to be chanted in the school. Though I remember whole of the girl students once being taken to DAV Lakkar bazaar Boys’ school for some Havana. But that was it and nothing more. We got values, the best of it, in moderate manner. But Bauji never knew of the inside functioning of the school at that time but then why did he prefer this school for us?

It was while reading a book recently that I came across a very interesting fact about this school, and I got an answer to all that might have led my Bauji to select this school for us.

The Indian clerks in Simla represented a cross-section of English educated men who on one hand assisted the English Government to run smoothly and on the other hand developed an attitude and way of thinking that their proximity to the power hubs helped develop. As Sir Harcourt Butler School for boys opened in 1916 and Lady Irwin School for girls were “popular English-medium schools where Indian clerks sent their children”, Bauji also must have wanted to send his daughters to Lady Irwin School!

I remember some of our relatives commenting on this choice of school for us as for them it was sheer wastage of money to spend a good amount of school fee on girls when they would go to some other home later on. But Bauji persisted despite pressure from many relatives and refused to enrol her in sarkari schools which, too, were very close to the place where we lived.

I think these must have been the reasons that we were not sent to many other school though they were in close proximity to our home.

dear mam im also a student of lady irwin school .from 4-7 th class. my feelings about the school is just the same .my elder sister chanderkala gupta ,my two brothers were also the students . i m also interested to know about my old friends .bir sing ki canteen ;patisa and cholle in kisti shape bowl adds to pleasure .veena sood, indu verma vijay luxmi uma mridula were my class mates in 1972 .my self chandrika

A very interesting read. I am also a fellow Irwinian but from Delhi (Batch of 1999). Its great to know more about the Simla branch, by the time we went to LIS, Simla branch was no more working, but nevertheless, as students we had great curiosity about Simla branch. The famous rumour being said, summer we would have classes in Simla and winters in Delhi. I dont know if i believe in that or not, but surely there is some history attached to it! I also have a very soft corner for Simla as a kid (just before joining LIS in y 3rd standard) I studied in Simla, well, not really Simla but in SummerHill in a school called New Model School. My father first put me in St. Thomas, but changed his mind later as that would make me travel to Simla from Summer Hill everyday alone or with my mother, which seemed like a tedious routine to him. How strange is this world!